clairelm
Written on Oct 25, 2021
Volume 8 in the Agatha Christie Collection (1927)
Framed in the doorway of Poirot’s bedroom stood an uninvited guest, coated from head to foot in dust. The man’s gaunt face stared for a moment, then he swayed and fell.
Who was he? Was he suffering from shock or just exhaustion? Above all, what was the significance of the figure 4, scribbled over and over again on a sheet of paper? Poirot finds himself plunged into a world of international intrigue, risking his life to uncover the truth about ‘Number Four’.
- ISBN10 0002310589
- ISBN13 9780002310581
- Publish Date 10 July 1997 (first published September 1974)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 13 May 2006
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Imprint Collins Crime
- Edition New edition
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 224
- Language English
- URL http://harpercollins.co.uk
Reviews
Aidan Brack (Mysteries Ahoy)
Written on Sep 7, 2020
A tedious attempt at a espionage thriller. Largely dull, this suffers from poorly defining the aims and motivations of its villains.
Read the full review at Mysteries Ahoy!
funstm
Written on Feb 26, 2020
Christie, Agatha. Hercule Poirot 3-Book Collection 1: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates (Kindle Locations 308-313). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.
I love Hercule Poirot. Such a great detective. Such a character. There's always a great mystery with lots of twists and turns and red herrings, all of which keep me riveted. The characters are interesting and have complex motives for their actions. I've read many Agatha Christie books before but not all and not in order so I'm in the process of commencing a reread. Highly recommend to crime lovers.
The Big Four was not my favourite. Was a bit too disjointed for my tastes. And Hastings is back. I don't understand why he gets married and then spends all his time away from her. Seems pointless to get married. I did enjoy the humor though. Particularly the cutting marks directed at Hastings by Poirot and Japp. And even the villains get in on it. “I should not advise it,” he remarked. “Remember what came of your hasty action in Paris. Let me assure you that my way of retreat is well assured. Your ideas are inclined to be a little crude, Captain Hastings, if I may say so.”
Christie, Agatha. The Big Four: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot series Book 5) (p. 190). William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition. Hastings is always so offended which cracks me up. And Poirot's self confidence. My favourite was this;
“You guessed this beforehand?” “‘Forecast the probable result of the deal,’” quoted Poirot from a recent bridge problem on which I had spent much time. “Mon ami, when you do that successfully, you do not call it guessing.”
Christie, Agatha. The Big Four: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot series Book 5) (p. 124). William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition. Hastings is right - modesty is not his strong point.
“And his mistake?” I asked, although I suspected the answer. “Mon ami, he overlooked the little grey cells of Hercule Poirot.” Poirot has his virtues, but modesty is not one of them.
Christie, Agatha. The Big Four: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot series Book 5) (p. 130). William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition.
But that's alright because it makes for great reading. For all that, with the mystery being so disjointed - investigating each of the Four individually - I just couldn't get into it. 2.5 stars, rounded down to 2.
brokentune
Written on Jul 2, 2017
This is possibly the most appropriate quotation I can choose to describe the book.
The Big Four has one of the silliest plots of Christie's books which is based on Poirot and Hastings engaging in international crime and espionage - much in the same way that Holmes and Watson do,just in a more believable way. Where Holmes is reserved enough to carry off disguises and under-cover work, Poirot's flamboyance has him stick out like a sore thumb all over the place, and Christie's attempts at making us believe that Hastings, or indeed anyone else, does not recognise him are just ludicrous.
The book was written in 1927 and is the first of Christie's novels that show her making an attempt at writing an espionage / crime thriller with an international setting. As ludicrous as this book is, it is still better than some of the other attempts that were to follow (I'm looking at you Passenger to Frankfurt!), but it is surprising that the book did not turn readers off Christie altogether.
Not only does the plot not hold any water, the writing is just unbelievably bad - culminating in an ending that is just ... wow, so ridiculous. Apparently, Dame Agatha got stuck and basically just hit the big red button. That is all I'm going to say about that (just in case someone really wants to read the book).
For the rest, ... Oh, boy. How many times can Hasting's get knocked out? Or knocked around by Poirot?
Seriously, for many parts of the book, I rooted for Hasting's shoving Poirot off a cliff.
clq
Written on May 19, 2012